Sunrise Stakeout

Dreams do come true. When researching my impending (now long since passed!) trip to Arizona, I was determined to see a Burrowing Owl. Such indelible birds were not to be missed!

Research through the annals of ebird revealed that Burrowing Owls were to be found on Lisa Frank Avenue, right in Tucson, a mile from our hotel! Clearly this was meant to be. I was out the door by 7am the first morning, alone, as my sister reneged on her agreement to accompany me. (You did!)

The streets leading to the stakeout where a mixture of desert scrub and industrial complex beneath a rising sun. I wasn’t sure entirely what to expect or how hard finding Burrowing Owls would be. So I headed at out at the earliest opportunity to maximize my chances of spotting an owl.

King of the Fence. Burrowing Owl Stakeout, Tucson, Arizona. Photo taken on June 14, 2014.

Lo and behold, there was a Burrowing Owl on a fence post. Right outside the Lisa Frank Building* Not at all where one expects to find an owl. I might have easily walked past as blinded by the building as I was. The fence was much closer to the road than the building. Had I longer arms I might have touched the owl. (If I could have, I would have hugged it! Reached that is, if I could have reached. All owls want to be hugged. It’s a fact.)

I walked to the far side of the street to sit and watch in amazement. (I might have texted a fellow birder or two back east to share my amazing fortune!) Then I noticed there were more owls. And they made sounds! It was almost too much to bear.

There were times they appeared to stare at me, and other times they appeared utterly disinterested. The above owl seemed more concerned with letting the wind blow through its feathers than the whirl of my camera hard at work.

They appeared very amicable birds, interacting and moving amongst each other. They’d sit together, then rearrange themselves. Sometimes darting across the street to chat with a neighbor, other times ducking into the burrow.

There were at least 6 owls. I stayed as long as I could and then hurried back for family engagements.

*Lisa Frank Avenue and Building, of course, the headquarters for the company responsible for the purple and pastel unicorn and fantasy themed binders and trapper-keepers on the market in the 90s aimed at pre-teen girls.

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5 thoughts on “Sunrise Stakeout”

NICE. They’re like the equivalent of Hobbits in the bird world, and it looks like you’ve got some immature birds, fledged maybe a few weeks before, in the mix as well, so it’s great to see that they’re reproducing in that area.
Fantastic shots, congratulations of crushing it with a great bird.

From what some of the local non-birding population indicated there are 2, possibly 3 different burrows within a block or two. It seems to be a very healthy population. It was an awesome half-hour of early morning raptors, respite, and reflection.